Between a Rock and a Hard Place

“And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.”    Exodus 14:19-20  NKJV

Most of us are familiar with the expression, “caught between a rock and a hard place”.  I think that expression could accurately describe what the children of Israel were feeling when they looked at the Red Sea before them, and the Egyptian army behind them.  I believe that one way or another, and at one time or another, everyone has encountered a situation much like this in their own lives.  Coming to the realization that you can’t go back, but certainly troubled and uncertain about what the future holds going forward can be more than a little unsettling.  At this point in time, it would seem that many in the body of Christ are coming to the conclusion that we as a Church are finding ourselves in just that position.

The truth is, I can completely understand that because much of what I am hearing and reading from other believers revolves around the increasing persecution we are facing and a very uncertain future before us.  As I thought about where we are this past week, it seemed the comparison of where the Church finds itself and where the Israelites found themselves at the Red Sea was not only applicable but an inevitable comparison. I thought today I would share just a few of my thoughts with you with the hope that you might feel encouraged about our future.

“Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.”  Exodus 2:23-25  NKJV

If anything, the current situation we have found ourselves in has produced what many consider to be an unprecedented increase in prayer and supplication to our Father in heaven.  Many of the events in the past year have served to remind the body of Christ of the importance of prayer and going before God with our concerns while relying on Him to provide that which we need.  I am especially encouraged to hear that many are not only expecting the rapture of the Church, but actively watching and praying for our deliverance.  Fortunately we as believers know that not only did God hear the groaning of the Israelites, He also chose to answer their prayers.

“And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. “The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”  Exodus 14:13-14  NKJV

Right now under the present circumstances, just like the children of Israel in Egypt, the Church finds itself caught between a rock and a hard place.  The world is becoming increasing hostile towards us and unfortunately our country appears to be following suit.  Regardless of the support believers might enjoy from the current administration, society is definitely turning against conservative Christian beliefs. The Word of God tells us, however, that this world is going to be judged for her sins, and this is where we find ourselves today; persecuted from behind with the coming judgment before us.  Fortunately for the Church, Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, will deliver us from the coming wrath by way of the rapture of the Church.

“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained.”   Exodus 14:26-28  NKJV

I have often been asked if I believe we as believers will be able to watch what happens on earth during the tribulation from our home in Heaven with our Lord.  I really have no idea but I suspect that we will.  I believe God allowed the children of Israel to watch the sea return to destroy their enemies to show them He keeps His promises not only to deliver, but to righteously judge.  The cry of God’s people throughout history has always been; “why do the evil prosper?”, so to actually witness His divine judgment seems appropriate.  Again, I don’t know that we will watch Him judge but I do know we have His promise that He will do it.

One of the signs we are told to watch for which heralds the return of Jesus for His Church is the increase in persecution that the Church will suffer.  While most of us would tend to focus on governmental persecution of the organized church, we should all be aware that individual persecution by those who disagree with our beliefs will be even more prevalent as we approach the end of our time on this earth.  Every week I read stories of persecution and suffering being visited upon true believers, not only from strangers, but from friends and family as well.  As painful as it is to contemplate, Satan will use anyone and anything, even those closest to us, to attack the faithful as we approach the end of the age.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”   2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NKJV

Obviously what Paul makes clear here is that the source of our comfort comes from God the Father, and we are responsible to pass that comfort along to others around us who are also in need.  Yet now that we know the source of our comfort, and the responsibility which comes with it, what do we know about the nature of that comfort?  As believers, is there a certain type of reassurance which we can use which we find is more effective than the sort of comfort the world might have to offer?  Again Paul comes to our rescue by telling the Thessalonians, and us as well, exactly what we need to hear to find comfort in the difficult times we find ourselves living in today.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”    1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 NKJV

I believe that the Israelites were encouraged by looking ahead at the other side of the Red Sea and knowing their deliverance was there.  So too, we as the Church should continue to look ahead and focus on the other side when we will meet Jesus in the clouds.  Our current persecution is simply one more sign that we are swiftly approaching the time of our deliverance.

So while we feel caught in the middle, the truth is that we are close to hearing the call to come home and spend eternity with our Lord. As we eagerly wait for that moment, may we all remember to give thanks to God for His gift of salvation to us through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.  If you have never made the decision to accept that free gift I encourage you to do so today.  Simply ask God to forgive you of your sin based on your belief that Jesus died to pay the price for your sin, and turn over control of your life to Him.  You can do that right now by praying a prayer just like this one;

 

"Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank You for saving me. Amen."

 

Keep watching.

https://www.raptureready.com/2026/04/15/the-jesus-haters-2026-by-terry-james/

God's Hooks

I am away this week but choose to share the following article with you as I feel it is not only very good, but timely as well. Enjoy.

God’s Hooks in Gog May Be Coming into Focus :: By Mark A. Becker

Published on: April 7, 2026 by RR10 Category:General Articles

“And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back [from Ukraine?], and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords…

“Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.” – Ezekiel 38:3-4, 10-12

Recent developments and a proposal from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Arab Gulf countries regarding the difficulties with the Strait of Hormuz due to the US/Israeli war against Iran have given way to the title of our article, God’s Hooks in Gog May Be Coming into Focus.

Here are two recent articles on this subject:

From Only long-term solution for Hormuz crisis is a pipeline through Israel, says PM Netanyahu – but Turkey and Syria compete for strategic route | All Israel News:

The only long-term solution to the danger of the Iranian regime blocking access to the strategic Strait of Hormuz runs through Israel, asserted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Monday interview with Newsmax.

“Long-term solutions include rerouting energy pipelines westward, across Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea and Mediterranean, bypassing Iran’s geographic choke point,” Netanyahu said, adding that the pipelines should reach Israeli ports to ensure “free flow of oil and gas” in the future…

While he didn’t specifically mention it in the interview, Netanyahu’s statements referred to the existing “India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC),” also known as the “Peace Railway,” which was announced at the G20 Summit 2023 in India.

It envisions creating a route for the transport of goods from India to the United Arab Emirates via ship, and from there, via a 2,000-kilometer (1,240 miles) land route through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel to the port of Haifa and then onwards toward Europe, shortening shipping distances via the Suez Canal.

However, Syria and Turkey are reportedly working on an alternative plan to “cut out” Israel from the corridor, Kan News reported this week, and are lobbying Saudi Arabia for it.

And from Gulf countries consider potential Haifa pipeline route as alternative to Strait of Hormuz | All Israel News:

Gulf countries are considering the construction of new oil pipelines that could transport crude via Haifa on the Israeli Mediterranean coast as an alternative route to the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, according to the Financial Times (FT). The deliberations come amid concerns about Iranian disruption of the Strait, a key artery for global energy exports…

Israel’s Haifa port is seen as a stable outlet for exporting Middle Eastern oil to global markets. The FT noted that proposed Gulf pipelines to Haifa would also advance the U.S.-backed IMEC initiative, which envisions connecting the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea through the Middle East and Israel.

NewMed Energy CEO Yossi Abu says the potential pipelines to the Mediterranean would allow people in the region “to control their own destinies, with their friends.”

“You need oil pipelines, railway connectivity throughout the region, onshore, without giving others bottlenecks to choke us,” he said.

Gog and Islam: Spoil, Prey, and Genocide

Here is what we suggested regarding God’s hooks in Gog in Gog and Islam: Spoil, Prey, and Genocide:

The Absolute Necessity of Energy in an End-Times World

One commodity that is of immense value in today’s world, and will be until Jesus comes back, is energy of all types. Energy is a universal standard commodity that every nation on Earth needs to survive and thrive.

Vladimir Putin and other national leaders have rightly claimed that whoever breaks out first and successfully with AI will rule the world, and energy is of the utmost necessity in this endeavor. In fact, AI utilizes vast amounts of energy!

Antichrist will also need vast amounts of energy to operate his worldwide Mark of The Beast economic and worship system; therefore, energy will be of vital importance to this system’s success. Energy may also be another hidden motive when Antichrist – in attempting to annihilate the Israeli people after the Abomination of Desolation, purging the nation of Israel of every Israeli in the Promised Land in the Great Tribulation – prepares to install his Mark of The Beast economic and worship system.

So, how can we come to a logical conclusion of energy being potentially the main objective of Gog’s invasion of Israel, as recorded for us in Ezekiel 38, since these modern-day energy sources were not in existence and/or unknown in Biblical times? Can we make sense of energy commodities, using the same ancient spoils and prey that God uses in Ezekiel?

Silver and Gold

“Silver and gold” are derived from earth and rock.

In just the same way, so is one of the world’s greatest energy sources and multifaceted elements in innumerable products for modern-day humanity, oil! We drill in the earth and frack in rocks to obtain this precious commodity, very similar to how the world has procured silver and gold since creation.

Though Israel is currently ranked 67 in the world in crude oil production, and does import additional oil, this could always change as more deposits could be found. However, for such an incredibly small country to be 67th in the world is pretty darn impressive, and even with their current production of 15,000 barrels a day and what they will have in import reserves would seem to be an easy spoil for Gog in his evil plan.

Personally, I would not be surprised in the least to hear of Israel finding more oil reserves – potentially vast amounts of reserves – in the not-so-distant future.

During the time immediately following the rapture, going forward, I expect that “climate change” will not be the fantastical, farcical issue that it is today, and even if it was, Gog would certainly care less.

Oil, when refined into petrochemicals, often has a silver and/or gold tint or hue.

Oil and/or petroleum is also known as “black gold”!

Cattle

The Hebrew word for “cattle” in both references of Ezekiel 38:12-13 is 4735 מִקְנֶה “miqnê” and means cattle, livestock, cows, sheep, goats.

When this interpretation came into my mind, I was blown away. This can only be understood in today’s generation.

Today, there is a war on cattle in this crazy world we live in, something never seen or even thought about in past generations. Climate fanatics are obsessed with the flatulence of cattle, especially cows, known as methane gas. Methane gas from living creatures is obviously a natural gas. Natural gas?!?!

God, in his omniscient foreknowledge, knew that this environmental idiocy would occur in the end-times. He also knew that natural gas would be a valuable energy source in the future. Therefore, it is no stretch to suggest that cattle are representative of natural gas as an energy source. There would seem to be no better way for God to use this Hebrew word for cattle, knowing what would transpire in the last days, and linking cattle to the energy source of natural gas.

Natural gas is Israel’s primary energy source for electricity production!

The Leviathan gas field recently discovered off Israel’s Mediterranean coast boasts 22 trillion cubic feet in recoverable natural gas!

Gog will certainly covet this immense energy source!

Now, with the proposed pipeline, if built, Israel will have even more energy resources for Gog to covet!

If this pipeline gets assembled from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States going through Israel to Haifa, then the protest from “Sheba and Dedan” (Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States) and “the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof” (United Kingdom/United States) against Gog’s invasion of Israel begins to take on a greater meaning:

“Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee [Gog], Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?” – Ezekiel 38:13

If this scenario comes to fruition, then our title may very well change to God’s Hooks in Gog is Coming into Greater Focus. The prophetic community should be keeping their collective eyes open to this potentially prophetic turn of events.

https://www.raptureready.com/2026/04/07/gods-hooks-in-gog-may-be-coming-into-focus-by-mark-a-becker/

Keep watching.

His Choice

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—“Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;“whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.”  Acts 2:22-24. NKJV 

“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.”       Matthew 27:50  NKJV

This week as many of us will read once again the story of the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I want to suggest you consider  the word “yielded”.  When I looked it up in the Greek, I was surprised to find the definition of its meaning and usage was a little longer than most.  As I read the many different ways it has been used in scripture, I was struck with the thought that in all of the cases, implied but not stated was the fact that it was a “choice” which could have, or not have been made.  As I thought about that, I could not help but think about the fact that even on the cross, Jesus knew me and all of my faults and sins and still made the choice to die for me.

“Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you." So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!" So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.”   Matthew 28:1-9 NKJV

The Greek word for rejoice also means “be glad”.  I wonder if, at that moment in time, the disciples understood exactly all that they had to be glad about?  Of course they were glad that Jesus was alive, but did they understand exactly what it meant to them as well as the rest of us?  Because of the resurrection, we all have the opportunity to share in His power over death. It is the gift of grace, freely given to anyone who chooses to believe. Have you ever considered the fact that as a believer in Christ, you are immortal? Death has no hold over us for we have the promise of eternal life, and to prove it, Jesus rose from the dead to show us He alone has the power. 

“Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. "And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" 

John 11:25-26 NKJV

Do you believe?  This is the most important question that anyone will ever be asked.  If you can answer yes, your place in eternity in the presence of our Lord and Savior is guaranteed.   We can know this because God has promised us that all who believe will have eternal life.  It’s been said that grace is getting what we don’t deserve, and mercy is not getting what we do deserve.  That truly defines what Jesus did for us on the cross by dying in our place (what we deserve) and rising from the grave so we might live (what we don’t deserve).  Nothing we do in this life could be enough to earn that salvation but God offers it to us free of charge because He loved us enough to choose to send His Son to die in our place.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  John 3:16 NKJV

“And it shall come to pass [That] whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.” Acts 2:21 NKJV

“And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." Acts 16:30-31 NKJV

“I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” John 10:9 NKJV

God made the choice to save us, but it is up to us to make the choice to accept it. My prayer for you today is that if you have never made the decision to believe that Jesus Christ died and rose again for you, you would choose to do it right now. Invite Jesus to come into your life and forgive your sins, and begin to experience the joy that comes from having a relationship with a living God, and the knowledge that He has promised us eternal life with Him in Heaven if we only believe.  Pray this prayer and accept the gift of eternal life God has offered you by the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.

Dear Father in heaven, I believe in your son Jesus. I believe that He died on the cross for my sins, that He rose up from the grave, and that my sins are forgiven.  Forgive me of my sin, help me to walk with you, and thank you for saving me. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

He lives!  Keep watching.

Deliverance

“For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. ‘Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. ‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.”      Exodus 12:12-14  NKJV

This passage from the book of Exodus describes the very first Passover which was instituted by God when the children of Israel were captives in the land of Egypt.  My personal introduction to it came when I was probably no more than seven or eight years old and my parents took me to the theater to see the movie “The Ten Commandments” starring Charlton Heston as Moses.  I vividly recall the scene which depicts the first Passover and especially the screaming and wailing which occurred at midnight when the plague of the Lord arrived.

As most of us know, the result of God’s judgment on the land of Egypt was that Pharaoh allowed the Israelites to leave on that very day and Passover has become known as the day of deliverance from bondage.  Yet as I studied Passover throughout the Bible I discovered a few very interesting facts which have caused me to consider the possibility that it is a holiday we as believers might want to take a closer look at in terms of our deliverance as well.

One of the first things I discovered in my studies was that not only did God deliver the children of Israel out of bondage on Passover, He also arranged for it to play an important part of something I like to call the circle of deliverance.  I believe it’s logical, to my way of thinking, that if you are delivered out of something, it follows that you are then delivered into something else.  Look at the following passage from the book of Joshua.

“And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before. Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.”   Joshua 4:18,19 NKJV

“Then the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day. Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho.” Joshua 5:9-10. NKJV

The obvious question that came to my mind was of all the days in a year, was it just coincidence Israel was delivered into the promised land just in time to celebrate Passover?  As you might expect from me if you are familiar with my past postings, to my way of thinking the answer to that would be no.  God always has a plan and it’s on us to figure out exactly what He is trying to show us.  So following the “pattern is prologue”  theory I decided to look deeper and see if there were other examples of Passover timing which might prove to be important in God’s plan for His people.

“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”       Matthew 26:26-29  NKJV

Tomorrow, Sunday March 29, begins what the world recognizes as the Passion Week, or the week where Jesus was crucified for the sins of the world.  In the passage above from the book of Matthew, we see the account of what is called the “Last Supper” in the upper room with Jesus and His disciples.  It is, however, something else as well as it is not just any supper but what in Israel is called the “Pesach Seder”, or Passover Supper.  The dinner is an intricate part of the Passover celebration in which the memory of the deliverance of the children of Israel from their bondage in Egypt is recalled.

In the traditional Seder, there are fifteen steps, or observances which each signify and relate to the deliverance on that first Passover in Egypt.  I am not going to examine all of these today but will encourage you to do that on your own to better understand why this is such an important event.  What I am going to discuss today is four of those fifteen steps which I will call the Four Cups of Wine.  This is because during the entire Seder, there are four instances where the participants drink a cup of wine in remembrance of the promises God made to them when they were still in bondage in Egypt.

“Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. ‘I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. ‘And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the LORD.’ ”             Exodus 6:6-8  NKJV

 

The four cups of wine are taken to recall the four promises made in this passage which are referred to as the “four I wills”.  The first cup is called the cup of Sanctification…”I will bring you out from under the the burdens of the Egyptians”.  The second is called the cup of Blessing…” I will rescue you from their bondage”.  The third is the cup of Redemtion…” I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.”, and the fourth cup is the cup of Acceptance…”‘I will take you as My people, and I will be your God.”

 

In the passage from Matthew 26, according to many scholars it is believed that when Jesus said “Drink from it, all of you. “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” during the Seder with His disciples, He was referring to the 3rd cup of the Passover, the cup of Redemption.  Jesus was saying that by His shed blood we can be redeemed from our bondage to sin just as the Israelites were redeemed from their bondage in Egypt.  He then went on to say, “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” 

 

Why?  In essence Jesus told the disciples, as well as all of us, that He would not drink the Fourth Cup, the Cup of Acceptance, until He could do so with those who have chosen to believe in Him when we are together with Him in Heaven.  According to the Mishnah, a collection of Jewish oral laws and traditions, Jesus is waiting for the marriage feast before He drinks from this cup.  (Mishnah, Pesahim 7:13)  Since we know that the marriage feast takes place after the rapture, is it possible that Jesus’ statement to His disciples about waiting to drink the Fourth Cup of Passover is actually His way of telling us that we will drink this cup with Him in heaven on a future Feast of Passover?

Now this is the question I have, considering I am always looking for patterns in the Word of God.  We saw in the Old Testament the example of the children of Israel being delivered from bondage on Passover, and being delivered into their promised land in time to celebrate the Passover.  Most students of the scripture understand that when Jesus was rejected by Israel as their Messiah, He set them aside temporarily and created the Church, made up of all who choose to believe He is the Son of God who died for our sins.  

As I see it, when Jesus was crucified on Passover, all who believe were delivered out of bondage to sin just as the Israelites were delivered out of their bondage to slavery in Egypt.  That said, in order to complete the picture we find in the Old Testament, it seems like the Church would have to be raptured, or delivered into our promised land in time to celebrate Passover with our Savior and drink of the fourth cup with him.  Knowing that God delivered the children of Israel into the Promised Land on the tenth day of the first month, which eventually would become Palm Sunday, and four days later they celebrated Passover, is it possible this is also a picture of when the church will enter her “promised land”?

Like always, I am predicting nothing except what the Bible makes clear and that is at some future point in time we will celebrate Passover in heaven with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and drink the fourth cup of wine with Him.  Could it be soon?  I and many others certainly believe it could.  The question today is are you personally ready to participate in that event?  Have you made the choice to believe that Jesus Christ died and rose again to deliver you from the bondage of sin?  If not, praying a simple prayer like this is all that is necessary for you to be saved and become part of the family of God.

Dear Father in heaven, I believe in your son Jesus. I believe that He died on the cross for my sins, that He rose up from the grave, and that my sins are forgiven.  Forgive me of my sin, help me to walk with you, and thank you for saving me. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Keep watching.